Confrontation With A Jedi
by emimar
Summary: Kopek suffers a devestating 'accident' when he tries to caputre Flik Sivrak and Auoura.


CONFRONTATION WITH A JEDI

Title: Confrontation With A Jedi  
**Author Name: **Emimar  
**Characters:** Kopek (OC), Lakah Vete (OC), Auoura (OC), Flik Sivrak (OC), Azet (OC), Za (The Shistavanen 'prince' from Crimson Empire II.)  
**Era:** During Revenge of the Sith - 1 year after ROTS.

Category: Action  
**Summary: **Kopek suffers a devastating 'accident' when he tries to capture Flik Sivrak and Auoura.

Disclaimers: I have not, am not, and will not receive any profit from the creation of this story. I do not own any of the canon Star Wars characters that feature in this story.

* * *

The Jedi are traitors, I thought.

The news had just made its way across the Republic of the assassination attempt on Chancellor Palpatine's life and his rescue by Anakin Skywalker, the only Jedi it seemed, that was still loyal to the Republic. I remember the announcement well, because it occurred shortly after I had assassinated Korta Sarc, the Alpha Premier of the Archetypes. I stared at the body for a few moments before I made my way to Uvena Prime's main spaceport, where my scout ship, the _Bloodied Scimitar_ waited for me.

I needed to get away from the scene of the murder before someone saw me. I had been ordered to do the deed by my half-brother, Za, who would be a contender for the next Alpha Premier. We had fabricated evidence that the Alpha Premier had been in contact with the disgraced Senator Mizet, in an attempt to reinstate her. Of course, there had been some circumstantial evidence that pointed him to the crime of treason against the Republic and the Governor appointed by Palpatine himself to cover for the absence of Mizet, though that was in theory, only a temporary measure - temporary! Ryiadah had been Governor for over a year now! A new Senator to replace Mizet should have been elected months ago. Such is the red tape of Government!

Za's opponent for Alpha Premier would be most likely Rivik, who had served Mizet during her time as Senator. I suspect that he will take measures to hinder the Governor if he is made Alpha Premier. Za serves only himself and will ally himself with Palpatine's puppet only to further his own ends, ambitious as my brother is. Which is good, in a way. We no more want the Republic here as the Confederacy, any more than Mizet did, but why support her when one can seize power for oneself?

My mechanical eye made its presence known as darkness gathered around me, though being Shistavanen, I could see perfectly well in the dark with the tapetum lucidem that reflected light back onto the retina at the back of my remaining natural eye. I had lost the other in a training accident with Nykit Dek, once a fellow Archetype, now an outlaw along with Mizet, her daughter Lyet, and the two Jedi Knights, Raqak and Shirak.

The two Jedi, I might add, were outlaws long before the assassination attempt by the Jedi Master, Mace Windu on Palpatine: Raqak for conspiracy with the Senator Mizet and Shirak along with others, Lyet and Nykit for breaking them out of detention before their execution. If not for my comradeship with the Archetypes that were slaughtered by the Clone Troopers, I would have said that Mizet and Raqak deserved their fate as well. That is a lesson Palpatine has learnt since then, I imagine: best to make sure your enemy is dead at the point of capture, rather than risk their escape later. But then, I suppose, justice must be made to be seen, to prevent others rising against you. I don't believe in justice. Justice is a sham, an excuse, a deception we tell ourselves to make right the foul deeds we commit.

* * *

After I had made my report to Za, I made my way back to my apartment in the city of Terhan. It amused me to see that while it was the dead of night where I'd assassinated Korta Sarc on Uvena Prime, the capital of Uvena III was broad daylight. Palpatine's Clone Troopers were in evidence wherever I went. They made me uneasy, these manufactured men. Humans had always struck me as creatures of industry, factory drones, always making things, building things, crushing nature under their feet as though they didn't acknowledge the existence of other living beings, sentient or no. It seemed they didn't know that they come from nature, that they are a part of it. Coruscant is testament to their insatiable desire to destroy nature, but even there, nature manages to cling on. Humans think that they are the conqueror's of nature, but given the chance, nature will re-colonise, for only nature's cycle of life and death would ever be constant. Now, humans were manufacturing their own kind. That can only end in disaster, I think! 

I caught her scent before I saw her when I entered my apartment.

"Lakah, so good to see you," I said, when she showed herself.

Like me, she was an Archetype. She was dressed in the chain mail that we wear, her sword hung in a scabbard at her hip. We did carry other weapons, like blasters, but why abandon those that were proven in battle, that only failed if the one wielding it did?

I took a step towards her, thinking that she had come to see me on a personal matter. We had been lovers for sometime now, but her demeanour brought me up short.

"What's going on, Lakah?" I asked.

"You tell me, Kopek, or should I say, traitor?" she spat the word traitor out, like a curse.

I cursed under my breath. She had been a witness.

"I saw you kill him. You're supposed to be an Archetype, protector of our people, yet you have proven to be a hypocrite to your oath."

If there was one thing that could be said for Lakah, she could be as fierce as she was beautiful.

"The Alpha Premier was a dissident, an enemy to the Republic and our people -"

"Republic? Don't you mean Empire!"

"Empire?" I asked.

"Yes, Empire. It was announced while you were with Za - the Jedi tried to assassinate Chancellor Palpatine, the Jedi are outlaws - don't you see, Senator Mizet was right, the Governor sent here was an experiment to see if it would work. That's why a new Senator for our people was never elected. As we speak, other Governors appointed by Palpatine are being appointed in other systems."

"But the Jedi are traitors."

Lakah glared at me with contempt, something I had seen on the faces of many Shistavanens in response to the loss of my eye, but which I never expected to see from her.

"Palpatine ordered our comrades' destroyed, Kopek. Surely you could not have forgotten that!"

"No, Lakah -"

"Then you can't condone what is happening! The Empire has already started to make their move. Just after I arrived at the Terhan spaceport, I heard from Nidet that Clone Troopers under the orders of the Governor had stormed the university when students protested over the new legislation to end unauthorised exploration: now only scouts working for the Empire are allowed to work, guess they don't want anyone finding planets for the rebels in the Senate, or the Jedi survivors -"

I looked at her with shock, not expecting this news.

"You can't work for them, Kopek."

I laughed, bitterly. "That gives the very reason we have to be seen to be working for them."

"In that case, it's over, Kopek. Everything that was between us is no more."

I watched her go. I sometimes wonder why I let her. Part of the reason was no doubt the emotion I felt for her, shock that she had left me, maybe. But I think deep down I knew she was right, in spite of the side I had chosen to be on: that was what I admired most about her and what would make me come to hate her in time.

* * *

The challenge for the new Alpha Premier occurred a few days later. As I'd said before, the two main candidates for Alpha Premier of the Archetypes were my half-brother, Za and Rivik. Rivik was probably the favourite to wind, because he represented the old ways - not even an Empire could change our ways over night, no matter how much the threat of attack hung over our heads. Sometimes I think the only reason the Empire didn't sweep the Archetypes away completely was to maintain a pseudo image of respect for our people when none existed, to garner support for Palpatine and the slow extermination and enslavement of exotic species that would make its way across Imperial space, where the only sanctuaries would be places like Nal Hutta, where the corruption of crime offers a false salvation. 

It wasn't that Za was the champion of the Empire's New Order, it was simply that he played the same deception game with the Empire that the Imperials put into play for the ordinary beings of the galaxy. Now you will understand why I believe justice to be non-existent.

The majority of the Archetypes had shown themselves - I scanned the crowd for any sign of Lakah, but she was conspicuous by her absence. The other Archetypes avoided me - the curse of being allergic to bacta, the reason why I had the mechanical eye. Nykit, the Archetype responsible for its loss, was not here either; he had been declared an outlaw along with Mizet and the rest. It was a fact, I might add, that I was glad of, for no one could fault me for seeking vengeance on the one who had made me a social outcast. Only Lakah had seen past my mechanical eye. Oh how I missed her!

The Challenge for Alpha Premier of the Archetypes stretched back into antiquity, when Shistavanens were nothing more than pack animals, following prey across the wild regions of Uvena Prime, making war on neighbouring packs to protect territory and to expand it, making peace by establishing new packs consisting of young adults from several packs. Shistavanens were by no means simple or barbaric in those times, we just preferred the freedom of the wilderness to the prison of a city. In the end, it was only curiosity about the heavens what brought us together to build cities. During those times, the Alpha Premier Challenge was carried out among individual packs for the position of leadership.

The first Alpha Premier Challenge for the leadership of the Archetypes occurred when our world was threatened by invaders and the leaders from each pack entered a tournament to see who would unite the Shistavanens against this threat. It was this unification and the help of the Jedi that drove the invaders back. That was how the legend went. It was so long ago that the events would have been distorted. The ritual of the challenge continued into more civilised times, but was finally ended with the first Senator elected to represent the Uvena System in the Republic. But these are turbulent times - Korta Sarc chose no one to take his place upon his death and so the Challenge was now invoked.

The rules of the Challenge are simple: the first one to maim, kill, knock their opponent unconscious or make them submit wins the Challenge.

My feelings were mixed as the anticipation to the Challenge mounted before the fighting began. Za and I had never been and never would be close as brothers, but I didn't want Rivik to win. I guess blood wins out every time.

The two male Shistavanens circled each other, broadswords at the ready. Za is a big, black furred male with a brown muzzle, as I looked at him, I could see the rage in his eyes. It was something that I wouldn't want directed at me. Rivik is grey furred, with a brown muzzle, forehead and a white body that turns to brown towards his back. He was the complete opposite of Za, calm, determined and focused. I caught sight of Nidet, Lakah's friend, and saw her watching Rivik carefully. Part of me began to understand why Lakah had broken up with me; she wanted me to side with Rivik, but that made anger rise inside me. I don't agree with the Empire, but how could I turn my back on Za? It was unthinkable. It also made me think that maybe Lakah hadn't been all she'd seemed. Had something been going on between her and Rivik? I glanced at Nidet again; would she have betrayed her friend too? Lupas.

Za made the first move, slashing with his broadsword at Rivik's chest. Neither of them wore the protective chain mail - it was forbidden in the Challenge - both where bare chested, with only the lower part of their body covered. This was no training battle, this time it was to the death. Rivik deflected Za's slash away easily and an aggressive snarl erupted from my half-brother's throat when his first strike failed - that was Za's problem. The Jedi Raqak had said so at the time he instructed us in our training. He did that with all the Archetypes, to pick the best ones to protect the Senator. Za had strength and was fast, but he lacked patience and let his emotions run free reign instead of focusing on what he had to do.

I sometimes wonder if I am the better fighter. Without me to fight his battles for him, I think Za would have been killed along time ago. I told him that he should let me fight in his place, that if I won, I would be the figurehead while he made all the decisions behind the scenes, but of course he didn't want that. I could see that he was going to lose in the first few moments of the battle. He should have let me do this! My half-brother couldn't take the fact that publicly, everyone would see me as superiour to him if I was in his place at that moment: "We can't have a half-machine as Alpha Premier. The others would never follow you!"

So there I was, forced to stand by and watch as Za, due to his bigotry, arrogance and selfishness threw away what chance we had at leading the Archetypes. I cursed my mechanical eye! I could only hope that Rivik wouldn't bring Palpatine's wrath down on our people again by helping the fledgling Rebellion. The fight was short but savage and left Za unconscious on the floor. Nidet was the first to embrace Rivik on his victory. Seeing them together made me ache for Lakah even more. Rivik, with the Lupa at his side, led the other Archetypes out of the hall. Only I remained behind.

I checked Za for life and when I saw that he was breathing, I monitored him until he came round.

"This is far from over!" he growled.

And I knew that he spoke the truth.

**

* * *

10 Months Later**

We had tracked the Jedi, Shirak, and his lupa, Auoura to the planet Rogja. It had taken months of painstaking work for Za and I to track down the rogue Jedi, rogue before the Jedi even went rogue. He was going by the name, Flik Sivrak now, which was incidentally his birth name. Sivrak's father, it seemed, had been Raqak. It was no surprise to me that after that revelation, it turned out that Mizet Shirov, the Senator, had indeed been Flik's mother. I found it amusing how the Jedi Master and the Senator had managed to deceive the entire Senate and the Jedi Council about their illicit affair. That also meant, however, that finding the Senator's daughter, Lyet was now imperative: did she have the same Force abilities as her father? Had she and Nykit managed to produce Force sensitive offspring? So much for the Jedi Purge!

Some might ask, why were we trying to eliminate the Jedi offspring if we opposed Palpatine? The answer is this: while Mizet lives, while any of her blood exist, there is a threat to Za's plans. Even though he had suffered a huge setback with his defeat at the Alpha Premier Challenge, there would no doubt come a time when the Empire would uncover Rivik's real affiliation with the Rebels, then that would leave the way open to us. It might be asked why I was going along with this if I was the better fighter than Za - the simple answer is that without him, I would never be anything more than a low-ranking Archetype because of the loss of my eye. Something as simple as that is my chain holding me back.

Lakah was long gone. I had seen nothing of her in ten months. My alliance with Za is the only thing, the only purpose to my existence. Plus, the path I hope would lead me to Nykit, the one responsible for the loss of my eye.

We entered the cantina our contact had told us where Auoura worked. Auoura was a singer. She'd had a brief spell of fame just before the start of the Clone Wars. We located her immediately, on stage. Her appearance was different than I remembered, but the voice was definitely hers! This was a ploy, I suspect, that stopped people recognising her on the street during the height of her career.

Not that I could blame her: who in all honesty, would want to attract hordes of obsessive fans when you were going about your everyday business? It was probably this more than anything else that had contributed to them being so difficult to find.

It was well known that Shirak, Flik Sivrak, had fallen for the singer, Auoura and that he had been expelled from the Jedi Order because of it, but everyone had been looking for a black furred lupa with him, not a golden furred one!

I found the sight of her mesmerising and I can understand how, Flik Sivrak had risked his career to be with her. I also noted with sadness that I would never know any lupa like that, not after Lakah.

"I'm going over to the bar. You keep a look out for Sivrak," Za broke the spell.

My ears flattened against my skull in deference.

* * *

After a sweep of the cantina, I found no trace of Sivrak in the crowd. I decided to exit the cantina and wait to intercept him outside. I patrolled the perimeter of the building, looking for possible entrances and exits. I discovered an entrance at the back of the building, one I considered to be for staff and maybe other shady characters who wanted to enter and exit the cantina unnoticed. I tried the handle and found the door unlocked - ah, what pathetic security! It was almost as if the Jedi wanted to be caught. Opening it a crack, I peered inside. This was where my mechanical eye came into its own, and I guess, in time I started to forget the social exclusion that came with it and begin to focus on the benefits. My mechanical eye allowed me to see the various light wavelengths that my real eye would never have picked up and I used it to my advantage by setting it to detect body heat. The corridor was clear, and I stepped inside. The advantage of having one eye that detected body heat and one that detected normal light soon became apparent, as my real eye could see the doors leading off the corridor to various rooms, which I would never have been able to pick up with my mechanical one. One of the doors I decided must belong to the singer, Auoura. 

I heard the clicking of sharp claws on the floor, and scented the pheromones of a female Shistavanen as I approached a junction in the corridor. I stopped, listened, flattened myself up against the wall to conceal my presence. I saw a flash of golden fur as Auoura filed past me and continued down the corridor without pause until she passed through the nearest door to the junction. I waited a few moments after she secured the door and fingered the comlink for backup. I whispered into the pickup where I was, and where I'd just seen Auoura go.

"I'm on my way," Za said. "Wait for me before going in."

I waited, nervous of discovery by one of the workers at the cantina, not for fear of my life, there was no doubt at all in my mind that I could take on any of them and win, but of the fact that that it would cause a disturbance and alert my prey to my presence. A plan was already forming in my mind in which I could lure the Jedi into a trap by capturing his lupa! Curse Za for being so slow, however.

The real target of my hunt showed up before Za did. Sensing my intentions, Sivrak ignited his lightsabre, casting an errie green glow throughout the corridor before I even attacked.

"Drop the weapon, Sivrak. Come quietly and no one will be hurt," I warned him.

He looked at me with surprise on his face when I called him by his real name, instead of Shirak.

"Yes Shirak. I know the secret of who you really are."

"The Jedi Order is no more, so I guess knowing that I am the son of a Jedi Master means little now, except as an excuse for the agents of the Empire to kill me. But let her go. She has nothing to do with it. She has no Jedi powers, she is not a threat to the Empire. She is just a singer!"

Before Lakah left me, I probably would have done as he asked, my sense of honour dictating that I should not cause more harm than I needed to. That part of me was dead, now and I saw something else in his demeanour, something that he wished to conceal from me.

The tension in his body told me more was at stake here than just a Shistavanen trying to safeguard his lupa. He had the look of a tusk cat protecting its young.

"That's the thing, though, isn't it? There is not just you. You have a pup in there. All of Mizet Shirov's line must die."

The Jedi howled with rage, a noise I had never heard a Shistavanen Jedi make, nor ever expected to. The sound of Auoura's dressing room door opening distracted me and I turned to look. The golden furred lupa stood in the doorway, a Shistavanen pup in her arms. That was all I needed.

"Auoura, take Tek and go!"

The lupa retreated and the door slammed shut as an invisible force picked me up off the floor and slammed me against the wall of the corridor, next to Auoura's room. I reached for the blaster holstered at my hip and drew it, pointing it at the Jedi. Before I could fire, the Jedi had levitated me again and forced my arm with my hand holding the blaster away from my body and he sliced through it with his lightsabre. I remember howling in pain and he slammed me against the wall of the corridor for a second time into the wall opposite to Auoura's door. I don't recall anything that happened after that, as my world became a starless void of darkness.

* * *

_I am worthless, completely and utterly and still am to this day_, were my first thoughts after regaining consciousness and finding myself in a med centre. As you can imagine, losing my arm was a nightmare, but I could have coped with its loss if that was all that I had suffered. For though a hideous injury it was, it would have been a badge of honour won in battle. I had to contend with something far worse than the loss of my arm. 

I had been unconscious for a long time and consequently, decisions were made about me without my consent or knowledge. My severed arm, though in normal circumstances it could have been saved, was not; my allergy to bacta prevented it. With only one arm, I would have been useless to Za as his enforcer. He decided for me, a mechanical arm to go with my mechanical eye, how about that?

The eye alone turned most away, though some like Lakah, had the strength of character to see past that and even I would admit it, the eye had its uses. But the arm, hideous it is and makes me look like a hybrid with a confederacy droid! Every time I move it, I can hear the servomotors whirring, like mocking laughter to remind me of it every time. It is cold to the touch, like a dead thing. If I could, I would have had it removed, but to make it work, the surgeons had to wire the thing into my spinal cord and if it was removed, I would in all likely hood, be paralyzed.

The mechanical arm was stronger than my original flesh and blood arm, but that was not the point! The eye, if I wanted to, I could hide from view and no one would even know it was there, but the hunk and metal wires of my new arm, I could never hide that, for its whirring would always reveal its presence. Because of this, my ability as a hunter is diminished, for how could I rely on stealth now?

I cursed Za for turning me into this.

Lakah, I never saw again, not until many years later, but that's another story.

This was my confrontation with a Jedi, but it would not be my last.


End file.
